Mold gate construction



Nov. l', 1966 P. J. NEFF, .1R 3,282,551

MOLD GATE CONSTRUCTION Filed March 20, 1964 n ,4 viv United States Patent O 3,282,551 MGLD GATE CONSTRUCTION Paul J. Neff, Jr., Lansing, Ill., assignor to Amsted Industries Incorporated, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 353,401 Claims. (Cl. 249-109) Another and more specific object is to produce a gate of such novel construction as to convert horizontal ow of molten metal to vertical flow in such a manner that all portions of the upwardly emerging stream flow in uniform direction.

Still another object is to provide a gate construction of the foregoing general character having a single inlet passage and a plurality of outlet passages with connecting passages therebetween extending generally horizontally, wherein novel construction is incorporated in each outlet passage and the areas adjacent thereto which provide control of various components of the stream of molten metal flowing therethrough such that all portions of the upwardly emerging stream flow in uniform direction.

Other objects `and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of mold apparatus including the gate construction of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an inner face view of one part of the gate construction;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken at line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, attention is directed first to FIGURE 1 showing a mold of a kind to which the gate construction of the present invention is particularly applicable and also showing that gate construction and a pouring tube all in operative association with each other. The mold is indicated generally at 10, the gate construction at 12 and the pouring tube at 14. The mold 10 is of a type having a plurality of inlet passages into the cavity therein. More specifically this mold is provided with an annular cavity for forming a hollow casting and for the purpose of filling the mold more rapidly, provision is made for pouring molten metal thereinto through two passages. A similar arrangement exists in the case of a mold having va plurality of cavities and an inlet passage to each cavity.

Referring again to the mold 10, this mold includes a casing 16 of two parts, one of which, 16a, is shown, having a cavity 18 which in this instance is cylindrical. Positioned within the cavity is a central core 19 forming an annular cavity 20. The mold is supported on suitable support means 21 made of two parts on opposite sides of a central vertical plane 22, and having a central circular and curved depression 24 preferably of the same diameter as the cavity, so as to provide a rounded lower end to the casting, this depression being formed by a portion of each of the parts of the support means. The two parts forming the depression are provided with cut-out portions which, when the parts are fitted together, form an opening 25 in which the gate construction 12 is fitted the upper surface of the gate construction then being exposed to the cavity and forming part of the bottom surface thereof. The central core 19 rests on the gate construction 12, or -both on that and the surface of the depression, depending on the size and shape of the core.

The gate construction 12, which constitutes the essence of the invention, is preferably made of a refractory material. It is made of two parts which in the normal assembly with the mold are on opposite sides of the plane 22 as indicated by the line 27. The two parts are fitted to- ICC gether and cemented with a known kind of mortar, and are placed in the opening 25, as noted above. The gate construction includes a central inlet passage 29 in the bottom at the central portion thereof which divides for forming two horizontal side passages 28 and these side passages continue into outlet passages 30 which open into the mold cavity. The gate construction is symmetrical about the vertical plane 31 and hence the description of one end of the gate construction will sui-lice for both.

Adjacent the outlet passage 30 the roof of the horizontal passage 28 is provided with a projection 32 which extends downwardly below the otherwise normal height of lthe roof of the passage 28 which is indicated at 34. The horizontal passage 28 terminates at an end surface 36 which is generally upright in position but is in the form of a return bend, or inclined inwardly toward the center relative to the Vertical.. This return bend preferably is on the order of 15 relative tol the vertical. This angle may be, however, within a range of between about 5 and 30, with satisfactory results.

The projection 32 is preferably generally rounded as viewed in FIGURE 2 having a first surface 32a against which a portion of the molten metal impinges in flowing through the horizontal passage 28. The projection 32 continues with another surface 32b beyond the lowermost point which curves upwardly and toward the end wall surface 36 but terminating adjacent the vertical. The lowermost point of the projection 32 forms a throat 38 with the bottom surface 39 of the horizontal passage which in the ideal proportions of the device is substantially equal in cross-sectional area to the terminal portion of the outlet passage 30 indicated generally at the line 40.

Heretofore, in gate construction in which a horizontal stream is converted to .a vertical stream, generally the end wall `corresponding to the end wall 36 herein is generally vertical. It causes a turbulence in the terminal end of the horizontal passage, here indicated as a chamber 42, which in turn causes eddies and irregulator iiow of the molten metal out of the outlet passage 30* and into the mold. These eddies impinge against'the surfaces of the mold cavity. They may flow relatively outwardly or inwardly, dependingnon various factors present, but in either case they cause serious erosion to the surfaces of the cavity which is generally of graphite, as in the present case. As pointed out above, the greater the angle at which the stream strikes the surfaces, the greater the erosion will be, while on the other hand, the less the angle, the less will be the erosion unti-l in the ideal case, where the stream flows accurately uniformly, and vertically, the erosion is at a minimum.

The projection 32 and the return bend wall 36 together produce the accurately uniform and vertical flow of the molten metal through the outlet passage 30. As the molten metal iiows outwardly through the horizontal passage 28, the upper portion thereof strikes the surface 32a of the projection 32 and is' deflected downwardly as indicated by the arrow 46. Various portions of the horizontal stream, possibly including portions deflected by the surface 32a, strike the return bend wall 36 and are deflected in various directions as indicated by the arrows 48. Each of these two deecting actions causes a turbulence in the stream and the turbulences tend to cancel out so that the stream emerging from the chamber 42 is non-turbulent, and uniform in body, and completely fills the outlet passage 30 and continues as a uniform vertical stream into the mold cavity, the various previously existing lateral forces having been nulliiied.

While the throat 38 and constriction 40, as noted above, are substantially equal in cross-sectional area for best results, there is a permissible latitude from this ideal condition. So long as either of these elements is within one end `one-half times as great as the other in crosssectional area, results have been quite satisfactory with a very small amount of lateral impinging of the molten metal on the surface of the cavity.

The projection 32 extends below the ro'of 34 of the horizontal passage,V preferably on the order of about onefourth of the vertical dimension of the horizontal passage. However, in this case also, a certain latitude is permissible and so long as this projection extends with-in a range of .about one-eighth t-o one-half of that vertical dimension, satisfactory results have been attained. The passage through the gate construction, from the inlet passage 29 to the outlet passage 30 may be of Iuniform width, except that, if desired, the terminal portion of the outlet passage may be tapered as at 50 (FIGURES 3 and 4) or rounded as at 52 (FIGURE 2). j

Preferably the inlet passage 29 is at least as great in cross-sectional area as both'horizontal passageways 28 for maximum efliciency in operation.

As an example of specific measurements of practical application of the device, the inlet passage 29 may be about 3 inches in diameter; the horizontal passage 2S about 2 inches in height, and the throat 38 Aapproximately 11/2 inches in height. The width in this same case of the passage 28 may be, for example, 3 inches. The length of the gate construction may he on the order of 21 inches and the height about 41/2 inches. The dimensions of the gate here given are effective for ow of molten metal at the rate of yapproximately 125 pounds of steel per second.

The top surface of the outer end of the `gate construction indicated at S4 is inclined upwardly in outward direction to conform at least to an extent with the concavel shape with the depression 23, the upper surface of the gate construction forming a portion of the bottom surface of the mold cavity, as noted above.

For lreasons of efhciency in construction and operation advantages, the overall height of the gate construction is quite small. Accordingly the height of the outlet passage posterior to the chamber 42 `is quite small and the emerging stream cannot be controlled and confined into an accurately uniform stream as Well as in the case where a long vertical outlet passage is provided. Hence another advantage of the invention resides in the ability to control the flow of the molten metal in the manner described notwithstanding a short height.

The pouring tube 14 is applied to the gate construction for communication with the inlet passage 29 in a conventional manner, the pouring tube extending from a ladle of coventional costruction.

I claim: 1

1. A gate construction comprising a body .member having a continuous passageway therethrough including -a bottom vert-ical inlet passage, a horizontal passage leading therefrom, and a top vertical outlet passage leading from the extended end of the horizontal passage, said outlet passage including an end wall extending generally 'upwardly but inclined toward the central vertical axis of the inlet passage so as to conine ow of molten metal upwardly from the outlet passage in a generally upward direction forming an outlet ow generally symmetrical about a central axis in Which al-l portions flow substantially in the same direction relative to said central axis.

2. The construction set out in claim 1 wherein the upper surface of the body member surrounding the outlet passage is inclined upwardly and outwardly.

3. The construction set out in claim 1 wherein the top surface of the horizontal passage includes -a downwardly extending projection adjacent the juncture of the horizontal and outlet passages and operative for defleeting the molten metal in flowing horizontally through the horizontal passage, in downward direction toward the juncture of the bottom surface of the horizontal passage and the end wall of the outlet passage.-

4. The construction set out in claim 3 wherein the said end wall is inclined upwardly and inwardly toward the Central vertical axis of the inlet passage.

5. The construction set out in claim 4 wherein said downward projection extends on the order of between l/s and 1/2 of the vertical dimension of the horizontal passage. Y

6. The construction set out in claim 5 wherein said projection extends substantially /ft of the vertical dimension of the horizontal passage.

7. The construction set out in claim 1 wherein the inclination of said end wall is of the order of between 5 and 30.

8. The construction set out in claim 7 wherein said References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,941,199 12/1933 BIOZ 22-68 2,303,949 12/1942 Nordell 13S-39 2,590,797 3/1952 SClanO 133-39 2,708,298 5/1955 Beckes 22-779 XR 2,734,224 2/1956 Winstead l8-l2 3,186,039 6/1965 Sylvester 22-69 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,202,910 1/ 1960 France.

I. SPENCEROVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

R. S. ANNEAR, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,282,551 November 1, 1966 Paul J. Neff, Jr.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2, line 38, for "irregulator" read irregular line 72, for "end" read and column 3, line 48, for "costruction" read Construction --C Signed and Sealed this 51th day of September 1967.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD I. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A GATE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A BODY MEMBER HAVING A CONTINUOUS PASSAGEWAY THERETHROUGH INCLUDING A BOTTOM VERTICAL INLET PASSAGE, A HORIZONTAL PASSAGE LEADING THEREFROM, AND A TOP VERTICAL OUTLET PASSAGE LEADING FROM THE EXTENDED END OF THE HORIZONTAL PASSAGE, SAID OUTLET PASSAGE INCLUDING AN END WALL EXTENDING GENERALLY UPWARDLY BUT INCLINED TOWARD THE CENTRAL VERTICAL AXIS OF THE INLET PASSAGE SO AS TO CONFINE FLOW OF MOLTEN METAL UPWARDLY FROM THE OUTLET PASSAGE IN A GENERALLY UPWARD DIRECTION FORMING AN OUTLET FLOW GENERALLY SYMMETRICAL ABOUT A CENTRAL AXIS IN WHICH ALL PORTIONS FLOW SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE SAME DIRECTION RELATIVE TO SAID CENTRAL AXIS. 